Cold and darkness outside,bargains inside on Black Friday

Like in many other places across the nation, people in Price lined up at businesses across town in the early morning hours hoping to secure electronics, clothes and whatever else was on sale during Black Friday.

At JCPenney before the doors were opened, customers waited outside in the cold and chilly night. There only saving grace was a propane heater Leslie Childs, manager of JCPenney, put outside so customers wouldn't be suffering in the time leading up to the clock striking 4 a.m. Despite the cold and the early morning wake up call, Childs said the Black Friday sale went over very well.

"We had a ton of people come in during the early morning and it never let up during the day," said Childs. "I was quite surprised."

Banelle's Clothing and Accessories, 640 E. Main, also started their Black Friday sale at 4 a.m. with a special sale on Silver Jeans that lasted until 6 a.m. Owner Jamie Mogensen said a group of people began began showing up before the doors opened. The clothing store has been open since Nov. 4.

Silver Jeans, which normally sell for $70, were on sale at a 20 percent discount for the two hour period.

Some of the big sellers were women's jackets and both men's and women's clothing, Mogensen said.

Many businesses noticed how focused customers were in finding what they wanted and getting out of the store quickly. Jake Steele, manager of Office Etc., said many of the customers who came in to Radio Shack knew what they wanted, purchased the items and were out of the store very quickly.

"People see the ads for items, they come into the store, grab what they want and get out really quickly," said Steele.

Office Etc. opened at 5:30 a.m. And Steele said the Black Friday sale was very consistent and steady throughout the rest of the day. Some of the big sellers included Skullcandy headphones, laptops, and iPod accessories. Steele said the day was very comparable to last year's Black Friday, as they sold out of everything in stock very quickly.

The sale continued through the weekend as sales were also steady on Saturday as well, Steele said.

At other places such as Wal-Mart and K-mart, lines of carts snaked through aisles as people waited to checkout. Many had their carts filled with electronics including flat screen televisions, video game systems, laptops and computer monitors.

While the final tallies on sales were not available for every business contacted for this article, seeing the hustle and bustle in the wee hours of Black Friday in Price is a positive sign.